6. Executive Benefits and Perquisites: An Overview of
Current Trends and Programs

Practitioners tend to speak of executive “compensation” in
shorthand. It is a label that covers not only the traditional compensation
elements—base salary, annual and long-term incentives—but
also the various executive benefits and perquisite programs that are
only offered—if they are offered—to the executive group.
This important chapter provides an excellent overview of the
currently prevalent executive benefits and perquisites.

After first making the case for why executive benefits and perquisites
exist and how they fit into an integrated total rewards program, the author
then discusses the most common executive benefits currently in use at
U.S. companies. These include deferred compensation, financial
counseling, executive medical, company cars, club memberships and
supplemental life insurance programs and many others. For each, the
author describes the benefit, provides prevalence data on usage, gives
an overview of design issues, discusses administration, tax or cost
issues, and gives a sense of the trend in usage and benefit design.

The chapter concludes with an eight-step process for determining
the selection of appropriate executive benefits and perquisites in a
company’s total executive rewards program. It explains why different
companies arrive at different solutions, and offers one-stop shopping
for a reader interested in getting a quick, but thorough overview of
what is currently in use. —Editors



In stock and shipping next business day. U.S. residents can order the
542 page casebound book, including templates and sample documents on CD,
direct from the Publisher for $99.95. The book can also be ordered through any
retail store by the title Executive Compensation: The Professional's Guide to Current
Issues & Practices or by its ISBN number: 1-893190-25-0.